Dough divider mechanism



April 28,1942. E. H. KOCHER 2,280,834

' DOUGH DIVIDER MECHANISM Filed Aug. 5, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l Fig.1. #6 1/9 129135 Ell L H I 0 101 g 1,! 169 J7 J10 J41 INVENTOR I 16.9 Ed'wardflifac/z r /ATTORI\1EYS awn:

April 28, 1942. ocH 2,280,834

DOUGH DIVIDER MECHANISM Filed Aug. 5, 1940 4 Shets-Sheet 4 v INVENTOR ATTORNEYS EaanrnUif[foa /er I Patented Apr. 28, 1942 DOUGH DIYIDER MECHANISM Edward H. Kocher, Boonton, N. J., assignor to Auto Research Corporation, .a corporation of Delaware Application August 3, 1940, Serial No. 350,645

Claims.

The present invention relates to a dough divider mechanism and it particularly relates to a lubricated dough divider mechanism.

Although not limited thereto, the present invention will be particularly described in connection with built-in lubrication installations for dough divider mechanisms, particularly where division box and pistons of such mechanism on one hand, and the knife, ram and top box of such mechanism on the other hand are automatically lubricated during the operation of machine.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide an automatically lubricated dough divider mechanism of the character above described, in which the division box and pistons and also the knife, ram and top box will be automatically lubricated throughout the operation of the machine, with assurance that at all times there will be supplied the necessary amount of lubricant for proper operation with constant checking by the operator.

Still further objects and advantages will appear from the more detailed description set forth below, it being understood, however, that this more detailed descriptionis given by way of ill1lstration and explanation'only, and not by way of limitation, since various changes therein maybe made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present in-,

I well as the piston pockets, is preferably actuated once with each reciprocation of the divider box.

At a lower position on the machine adjacent the base thereof, there is positioned another recess or reservoir having a reciprocating pump. P which may be driven from an eccentric on a drive gear. This pump will have a plurality of restricted outlet tubes to feed excess quantities oflubricant to the knife, ram andtop box, which excess lubricant will be collected, filtered and returned to the reservoir.

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Referring to the drawings which illustrate one of the embodiments according to the present invention, to which the invention is by no means restricted, since the drawings are merely by way of illustration and not by way of limitation:

Fig. '1 is a front diagrammatic view in partial section of a dough divider machine illustrating the application of a lubricating installation according to the present invention to the division box and piston pockets,

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic side sectional view of the machine 'of Fig. 1, showing a side view of the lubricating'installation applied to the division box and piston pockets and also the lubricating installation as applied to the ram, knife and top box construction, a

Figs. 3 and 4 are schematic views showing the layout of the lubricating installations respectively, Fig. 3 showing the application of such lubricating installation to the knife, ram and top box, while Fig. 4 shows the application of the lubricating installation to the division box and bearings,

Fig. 5 is a detailed longitudinal sectional view upon an enlarged scale as compared to Figs. 1 and 2, showing the pump construction,

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 illustrate the restricted lubricant proportioning tubes which are utilized in the construction of Fig. 3 to lubricate the knife, ram and top box of the machine, Fig. 6 being an end view, Fig. 7 being a side view upon the line 1-1 of Fig. 6, and Fig. '8 being a longitudinal sectional view upon the line 88 of Fig. 6, upon an enlarged scale as compared to Fig. 6,

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a type of high restriction metering fitting, which may be utilized to form an outlet for the lubricant distributing installation of Fig. 4 as applied to the lubrication of the division box and piston,

Figs. 10 and 11 are enlarged showings of the attachment of the pump for the system of Fig.

4, to the mechanism, Fig. 10 being atop view and 'Fig. 11 being a side view.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2', the dough divider mechanism has the base structure I0 (see Fig. 2), which carries the driving motor II, which drives the chain or belt l2 by the pulley l3.

'The belt in turn drives the pulley I4. The

. pulley It is connected to a shaft l5, which carries the pulley l6, which in turn drives the pulley, I! through the belt l8. The shafts l5 and I9,

are associated with. the variable speed transmis-. sion mechanism .25.

Mounted on the, shaft I9 area series of pulleys which drive the conveyor drive shaft 2| through the belt, or chain 20 and the countershaft 22 and the pulley. 23 by the belt or chain drive 24.

The mechanism just described will drive the cam shaft or division box lever shaft 28, which drives the arm 21 connected to the link 28, connected to the arm 30. The forward end of the arm 30 is connected at 3| to the division box connectingrod 32, which causes vertical reciprocatory movement, as indicated by the arrow 33 of the division box 34, having the adjustment 35.

The division box 34 is connected by the arm 38 and the connecting rod 31 to the pistons 38, which reciprocate in the piston boxes, four of which are shown positioned side by side as indicated at 39 in Fig. 1.

The division box is provided with a reservoir 40, which has the walls M and 42 and the bottom 43 shown in Fig. 2, and the side wall 44 shown in Fig. 1 for a tasteless, odorless and colorless mineral oil. a

The top of the machine is provided with a hopper 45, which receive the dough. The dough is out off by the reciprocating knife 48 driven by the rod- 41 having the pivot 49.

The pivot mount 48 is connected to the knife 46, while the pivot mount 49 is connected to the lever 50, which is mounted on the arm 5I. Below the knife there is positioned a ram 52 having the front pushing face 53 and the sliding top face 54, which has a pivotal connection at 55 to an actuating rod 50.

Saidrod 58 is pivotally connected at 51 to the ram lever 58, which has a pivotal connection at 59 to the shaft 60 extending into the spring housing BI.

The spring housing 6| has a lower pivotal connection 62 to the arm 83, which is pivotally mounted at 64 to the base 65. Pivotally mounted to the bearing 62 is also the ram eccentric lever 88, which extends upwardly to the eccentric member 31.

Positioned in the lower rear of the mechanism is the reservoinIiB, which receives oil for feed to the bearings of the knife 46 and the ram 52.

In the operation .of the dough divider, the dough will be placed into the hopper 45 and will pass into the space 89, where it will be out upon movement of theknife in the direction 10. Then the division box 34 will be elevated from the eccentric 26 and the connecting members 21, 28, and 32 to a point where the piston pockets will be directly opposite the space 89. The ram .52 will then move in the direction I0, forcing the dough which has been cut into the piston pockets 39. V

The division box 34 will then move downwardly and the pistons 38 will force the dough out of the pockets between the, separators 29 onto a conveyor belt, which is best indicated at II in Fig. 1.

Now, in connection with the lubrication of the bearing face I2 (see Fig. 2), as well as the bearing faces I3 of the piston pockets 39, to which the present invention is most particularly directed, the pump I4 will have the construction more fully shown in connection with Figs. 3 and 5.

In connection with the lubricating installation of Fig. 4, the outlet fitting 93 of the pump I4 will be connected to an outlet tube us, which feeds the junction 1. The junction II] has the outlet connections II8, H9 and I20 feeding the up-,

per'part of the bearing'face 12 through the high particularly Figs. 2 and 4) The Junction also feeds the lines I23, I21, I28 and I29 connected to the high restriction now metering fittings I30, I3I, I32 and"I33, each of which is connected to feed lubricant into one of the piston pockets 39, as best shown in Fig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 4, the upper leg I34 of the bracket I00 forms a bearing for the connecting rod extension I35. The extension I35 is connected by reduced diameter portion I38 to the lower connecting rod section I08. Said reduced diameter portion is embraced by the clevis I31 of the lever I38, which has an eye I39 mounted on the shaft I40. This shaft I40 is mounted on an extension I from the base of the bracket I 00.

As shown in Fig. 10, the base of the bracket I00 is bolted at I42 to the wall 44 of the reservoir 40 and the shaft I40 has a bearing at I43 in said wall 44. The shaft I40 is fixed by the pin I45 exteriorly of the wall 44 to the eye I44 of the lever I48. The end I41 of the lever I48 is designed to strike the head I48 of the adjustable mounts at 48 and g bolt I49.

The bolt I49 is locked in adjusted position. by the lock nut I50 and is mounted on the fixed arm I5I attached to the structure I 52, so that it will strike the contact and I4! of the lever once upon each reciprocation of the division box 34, causing a stroke of the pump and supply of lubricant to the bearing face of the division box, as well as to the piston pockets.

It will be noted that there are three lubricant outlets to the bearing face of the division box, while there are four outlets to the piston pockets 39, one to each pocket.

Each of the high restriction flow metering fittings indicated at I22 to I 24 and I30 to I33, all inclusive, may be of the construction illustratively illustrated in the longitudinal section in Fig. 9 for the unit I22.

As indicated, the unit I22 has a hexagon body at I53 with a machine threaded inlet end I54 and a pipe threaded outlet end I55. The inlet end Of the fitting I22 has a. socket I56 receiving the strainer I51 and the retainer I58, which also acts to receive a double tapered coupling sleeve of the coupling connection (not shown).

The central bore I49 is substantially completely filled by the pin I60 to form a narrow annular crevice of the orderof a thousandths or several thousandths of an inch, which has the substantially greater restricting and obstructing effect than the conduit system or the bearings-say 10 to times-so that it will in itself predominantly control the proportionment of lubricant among the various bearings of the division box 34 and piston pockets 39.

The outlet check valve I6I, which is seated by the spring I82, provided with the valve retainer I63 will not afford any substantial obstruction to the flow of lubricant, but will keep the system filled with oil, since it will prevent ingress of air at a higher outlet with dripping or leakage of lubricant at a lower outlet.

In the system for lubricating the'top box and the knife 48, the ram 52, the pump I4 (see Figs. 2 and 3) may be of the same construction as'the pump 14 of Fig. 5, similarly functioning parts being indicated by the same numerals primed.

The construction of the pumps of Figs. 3 and 4 is apparent from the section of Fig. 5 of the pump of Fig.3.

As shown in Fig. 5, the pump 14' has a central bore I5 receiving the elongated unpacked piston plunger 13', which extends into the enlargement knife hearings.

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I is provided with a spring retainer 83'. Th lubricant passes upwardly through the lower opening 84' and out through the openings 66 in the retainer 63' for the spring 62.

To the lower portion of the pump body 14' is attached the strainer cup 66' having the screws 41' and the felt strainer 8l',.which is held in position by the clamp member 89' and the spring ring 90'. The spring ring 60' snaps inside i of the indented portions 9| at the end of the skirt of the cup 66'.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the bracket I60 is provided with an outstanding arm I4I' on which is'pivotally mounted the lever I38 at I40. Said lever has a ball connection at I64 resting upon the adjustable nut or sleeve I66 fixed to the rod ,7

The rod I61 is pivotally connected at oil-center at I66 to the drivepinion I68, which upon being driven by the mechanism of the machine, will cause said pump to take charging and discharging strokes and force lubricant out into the upwardly extending lubricant conduit I69.

The upwardly extending lubricant conduit I69 passes to a junction I10, where the lubricant is distributed by a series oftubes I" to the four ram constructions. These tubes "I are best shown in Figs. 6, '1 and 8, and as indicated, they have inlet ends I12, coil portions I13 to give the necessary restricting effect and the outlet drip I indicated in Fig. 8, the bore g'radually converges at I16 to the small bore I15. Since these tubes "I are all at the same level, the elongated very small diameter bores will be suflicient to assure satisfactory distribution of lubricant amongthe This lubricant will flow to the contacting surfaces I11 and I18 of the knife, as well as to the lower contacting surface I18 of the ram 52.

The excess lubricant will be collected in the gutter I19 and flow back at I66 to the receiving chamber IBI, where it will be filtered and then flow through the outlet I82 into the reservoir 66.

The applicant has, therefore, provided a compact automatic continuous lubricating system, which will feed the various bearings, both of the reciprocating divider box and piston pockets, and also of the knife and ram in accordance with their needs, with return of excess quantities of lubricant from the knife and ram bearings.

In both cases, the strokeof the pump is adjustable. In the installation of Fig. 4, the adjustment is obtained by adjusting the screw I45 and in the installation of Fig. 3, theadjustment is obtained by adjusting the sleeve I64 on the pump actuating rod I61.

The lubricant will be supplied to the knife and 3 ram bearings at the rear of the hopper at a rate proportionate to the speed of the machine, and

it will be supplied to the divider box bearings, as well as to the piston pockets in accordance with the number of reciprocations of the divider box.

At each upstroke or up and down movement of the division box, the pump operating I46 and I38 will be given one stroke, delivering a desired charge of oil to the junction II1, which as is indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 is positioned at the top of the front wall 42 of the reservoir.

It is sometimes desirable to supply sufficient oil before starting up machine to the, lubricating bearing faces of the divider box, the piston pockets, the knife and the ram, and this may be done by providing means for manually actuating the pumps 14 and 14 without operation of the machine until these surfaces are thoroughly lubricated.

After this lubrication, the automatic operation of the pumps will keep the surfaces supplied with reciprocatory' pump positioned in said reservoir,

a lever for actuating said pump, a fixed adjustable device upon said machine to reciprocate said lever and cause reciprocation of the pump upon each reciprocation of said divider box, a junction positioned in said divider box fed from said pump and a plurality of outlet connections to the bearing surface of the divider box and to the piston pockets of the divider box, each provided with a highly restricted outlet flow metering fitting.

2. In a dough divider machine of the type having a reciprocatory knife for cutting off portions of dough and reciprocatory rams for feeding said.

cut-off portions of dough to a divider structure, a reservoir mounted in the base of the machine; a small elongated unpacked plunger pump positioned in said reservoir having a connecting rod and' a U-shaped mounting bracket forming a bearing for said connecting rod, a lever mounted on said bracket actuating said connecting rod, an actuator rod connected to reciprocate said lever, an eccentric on the machine to reciprocate said rod and a lubricant distributing installation supplied by said pump to feed the bearings of said knife and said rams.

3. In a dough divider machine of the type having a reciprocatory knife for cutting of! portions of dough and reciprocatory rams for feeding said cut-off portions of dough to a divider structure, a reservoir mounted in the base of the machine, a small elongated unpacked plunger pump positioned in said reservoir having a connecting rod and a U-shaped mounting bracket forming a bearing for said connecting rod, a lever mounted on said bracket actuating said connecting rod, an actuator rod connected to reciprocate said lever, an eccentric on the machine to reciprocate said rod and a lubricant distributing installation supplied by said pump to feed the bearings of tem being provided with a Junction positioned above the knife and the ram and aplurality of highly restricted tubes having coiled portions and having the small bores to distribute lubricant to the ram and knife bearing faces.

bearing for said connecting rod, a lever mounted on said bracket actuating said connecting rod, an actuator rod connected to reciprocate said lever, an eccentric on the machine to reciprocate said rod and a lubricant distributing installation supplied by said pump to feed the bearings of said knife and said rams,'said lubricant being fed to said knife and ram bearings in excess, and means for collecting said excess quantities of lubricant,

filtering the same and returning it to said reservoir.

5. In a dough divider machine of the type having a vertically reciprocatory division box and a plurality of piston pockets carried by said division box, a reservoir carried in said division box, a reciprocatory pump positioned in said reservoir, a lever for actuating said pump, a fixed adjustable device upon said machine to reciprocate said lever and cause reciprocation of the pump upon -leve,r being provided 'with two arms, one positioned interiorly of the reservoir and the other positioned exteriorly of the reservoir and a shaft extending through the reservoir connecting said arms.

' EDWARD H. KOCHER. l 

